BC-CO--Colorado News Digest, CO

The desk can be reached at 800-332-6917 or 303-825-0123. For access to AP Exchange and other technical issues, contact AP Customer Support at apcustomersupport@ap.org or 877-836-9477.

UPCOMING TOMORROW:

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO-PRESIDENT

AURORA _ University of Colorado regents are set to vote on whether to hire former GOP congressman Mark Kennedy as the school’s president in the face of strong opposition.

TOP STORIES TODAY:

INTRESTATE 70-FATAL PILEUP

DENVER — The company that owns a semitrailer involved in a fiery pileup that killed four people near Denver had two trucks taken out of service for brake-related issues in the past year, including one about two months before the Colorado crash. Federal records say a March 6 inspection in Texas found that one of the five trucks owned by Houston-based Castellano 03 Trucking did not have adequate brake tubing or hoses, a violation that required the truck to be pulled off the road and fixed. By Colleen Slevin. SENT: 540 words, photo.

COLUMBINE-THREATS

DENVER — A Florida teenager obsessed with the Columbine school shooting had already died by suicide by the time authorities launched a manhunt for her after learning that she had traveled to Colorado just days before the 20th anniversary of the massacre, a coroner’s report said Wednesday. An autopsy summary by the Clear Creek County coroner estimated that 18-year-old Sol Pais likely died on April 15 — the day authorities said she flew to Denver from Miami. The FBI’s Denver office said it learned of Pais’ travel the following morning. Agents also learned the day after she died that that Pais had gone directly to a gun store from the airport and purchased a shotgun and ammunition. By Kathleen Foody. SENT: 380 words, photos.

SUBWAY PLOT-SENTENCING

NEW YORK _ When Najibullah Zazi pleaded guilty to being the ringleader in a foiled plot to bomb New York City’s subway system, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said he was responsible for “one of the most serious terrorist threats to our nation” since the 9/11 attacks. Nearly a decade later, Zazi has a shot at an improbable second chance. The 33-year-old is finally scheduled to be sentenced Thursday in federal court in Brooklyn, and prosecutors are expected to credit him with switching sides after his arrest and volunteering valuable intelligence about other al-Qaeda trained terrorists. By Tom Hays and Jim Mustian. SENT: 950 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-SCHUMER

WASHINGTON _ Senate Democrats are stinging from a trio of high-profile failures to recruit candidates who could help reclaim the majority, including Stacey Abrams’ announcement that she would pass up a Senate run in Georgia. Abrams follows former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper in spurning Senate Democratic leaders’ entreaties to take on incumbent Republicans seen as potentially vulnerable. SENT: 930 words, photo.

WILDFIRE PROJECTIONS

SPOKANE, Wash. _ Most of the country can expect a normal wildfire season but residents along the West Coast of the United States should be ready for another busy season, the National Interagency Fire Center said Wednesday. California experienced its deadliest and largest wildfires in the past two years, including a fire in the northern part of the state last year that destroyed the town of Paradise, killing more than 80 people. It was the nation’s worst death toll from a wildfire in a century. By Nicholas K. Geranios. SENT: 370 words, photos.

SMALLBIZ-SMALL TALK-STATE OF SMALL BUSINESS

NEW YORK _ As Small Business Week approaches, the nation’s smallest companies in the aggregate are by many accounts doing fairly well. They’re not, however, thriving en masse in direct response to Trump administration and Republican policies. Small business hiring is erratic, according to numbers released by payroll provider ADP. Small businesses typically struggle to add jobs when the unemployment rate is very low, as it is now, at 3.8%. They often can’t pay as much as larger companies or offer the comparatively robust benefits that big companies do, thereby leaving them at a disadvantage when workers are scarce. By Joyce M. Rosenberg. SENT: 1,350 words, photos.

IN BRIEF:

_ COLORADO LEGISLATURE-THE LATEST _ Colorado’s Senate has passed a bill that would set climate change goals into statute on a party-line vote.

_ MURDER-SUICIDE _ Authorities say the recent deaths of two Colorado men were a homicide and suicide.

_ COLORADO-VFW POST _ A new Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Colorado has been named for a soldier who died a year ago in Afghanistan.

_ COLORADO-AMAZON _ Amazon.com Inc. plans to open a new delivery center on property purchased from a Colorado airport.

_ CAT DECLAWING BAN_ An effort to ban the declawing of cats in New York is moving through the state Assembly.

_ FINANCIAL MARKETS-BOARD OF TRADE _ Wheat for May was up 6.50 cents at 4.1850 a bushel; May corn rose 6.75 cents at 3.60 a bushel; May oats was off .75 cent at $3.0425 a bushel; while May soybeans fel 1.75 cents at $8.3950 a bushel.

SPORTS:

TRAIL BLAZERS-NUGGETS

DENVER _ Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets seek to seize control of their second-round series against Portland when they host Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers for Game 2 on Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center, where they’re an NBA-best 38-8, including the playoffs. By Arnie Stapleton. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos. (Game starts 7 p.m. MT)

COLUMBUS, Ohio _ The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to journey deeper into uncharted territory with each win in these playoffs. Among the franchise firsts so far: Winning a playoff series (they swept Tampa Bay in the opening round), first appearance in the second round, first second-round game played — and won — at home. And on Thursday night, it will be the first time many of the young Blue Jackets have played a meaningful game in the month of May. No Columbus player has played this late in 18 years of the team’s existence. By Mitch Stacy. SENT: 750 words, photos.

SPORTS IN BRIEF:

_ RAPIDS-HUDSON FIRED _ The Colorado Rapids fired head coach Anthony Hudson on Wednesday and replaced him with assistant Conor Casey on an interim basis. Hudson had an 8-26-9 record in Major League Soccer play since taking over in November 2017

___

If you have stories of regional or statewide interest, please email them to apdenver@ap.org. If you have photos of regional or statewide interest, please send them to the AP state photo center in New York, 888-273-6867. For access to AP Exchange and other technical issues, contact AP Customer Support at apcustomersupport@ap.org or 877-836-9477.